Harry Potter and the Guardians' Wyrd
by Zaion Indulias
Summary: It's the beginning of Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts, and six new transfer students are throwing Fate for a loop. But when strange happenings begin to occur around the school, can Harry and his gang solve the mystery of the Guardians' Wyrd?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the contents therein. I do own Saiya, Yūki, and my other original characters and critters.

* * *

**Harry Potter and the Guardians' Wyrd**

_By Zaion Indulias_

**Chapter 1: The Transfer Students**

It was the first of September, and King's Cross Station was bustling as usual. Muggles filled the platforms while a variety of poorly and well disguised witches and wizards maneuvered their way to the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten and onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. It was into this mess that six figures stepped as they exited their train on Platform Nine. All six figures looked to be in their mid to early teens and were dressed completely differently from one another, but they were all pushing very large trunks and shared the same determined look.

The tallest of the figures, a young teenage boy dressed entirely in black and wearing a black trench coat, sniffed the air before he spoke. "Gah, London. The air quality here reeks like bantha poodoo." Certainly most of their soon-to-be classmates would not have gotten the young man's joke, but several of his companions did. One young man with short, dirty blond hair grinned, and the green haired girl next to him let out a snort, giving her tallest companion a wolfish grin.

"Yes, the air is much crisper at Durmstrang. And at Hogwarts, I am told." A burly young man with short dark hair and dark eyes had stepped up beside the tallest youth. "I suggest we get to the platform before some station worker notices what I am hiding under my robes. I would rather not have to conceal your ill-behaved mutt anymore than I have to, Saiya."

This earned him a glare from the wolf-grin girl and he let out a quickly muffled yelp as something nipped at his leg. The tallest youth grinned and started walking down the platform towards the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten. After a few seconds, and a few glances around the area, the other five teenagers started after him, hauling their massive trunks.

As the group passed under a stream of sunlight their countenances were illuminated for a few moments. The tallest youth's fiery, spiky red hair glimmered as if it were on fire. His black clothes absorbed the light in counterpoint to his hair, and his eyes were a deliciously clear magenta color. He had a pair of saya, the sheathes for Nihon-style swords, strapped to his hip underneath his black trench coat, and at six feet even he stood a good four inches taller than even his burly companion in the fur coat, who appeared to be walking with a slight limp. In short, he stood nearly a foot taller than Saiya, despite their both appearing to be about thirteen or fourteen years old. He would have been considered tall anyways, but was especially so for his apparent age.

Saiya, all four foot eleven of her, was dressed in a pair of battered blue jeans and a black form fitting t-shirt that clung tightly to her developing curves, a pair of black combat boots, and a shimmering black and purple cloak. She also had a sword strapped to her back that nearly dwarfed her in stature. At fifty-four inches in length for the blade itself and fourteen inches for the tsuka the sword was a total of sixty-eight inches long, over half a foot taller than she was. Needless to say, the sight of this sword in its specialized saya strapped to her back was often intimidating, and had twice during the trip discouraged would-be muggers. In the light that streamed down upon them as they advanced towards the barrier her long green hair and yellow eyes seemed to glow faintly, and her wolfish grin glinted with hidden humor.

To Saiya's right walked a pair of young men, a dirty blond who stood about five and a half feet tall and was wearing black jeans, running shoes, a white t-shirt, and a tan coat, and a brunette who stood about an two inches shorter than his companion and who sported tan hiking boots, pants, shirt, jacket, and a hat, an ensemble that was stereotypically Australian outback. Neither of them was carrying odd blades on their persons, although the great hawk owl and red-tail hawk that they had caged on their trunks drew a brief glance or two from the occasional bored passerby or the terminally bored station attendants.

To Saiya's left walked their remaining two companions, the burly young man whose short dark hair barely peaked over the high collar of his massive floor-length black fur coat. He stood about five foot eight, and the hem of his large coat seemed to ripple oddly occasionally. Walking beside him was a young blond girl; about five foot four in stature. Her long blond hair hung down to her butt, flowing down the back of her white fur coat, which she was wearing over a white blouse, and a pair of blue jeans. She had a small smile on her face, and her brilliant blue eyes glinted in the sunlight.

The six young teenagers, who despite the stature of the two tallest boys couldn't have been more than thirteen or fourteen at the most, deftly maneuvered their trunks through the crowd and passed through the barrier onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. The Platform was full of parents and siblings wishing young witches and wizards a good term. Saiya laughed slightly at a hapless brunette boy about their age chasing after an escaped toad, and the burly boy's robes let out twin low-pitched soft growls as a girl about their age with bushy brown hair pushed past carrying a very large ginger cat in a basket. Upon seeing it both Saiya and the redhead stopped for a moment and blinked as they sniffed the air.

"I could have sworn…" the redhead began.

"That I just smelt a Kneazle." Saiya finished the thought for him. "Hmm, this year looks like it might be interesting after all, Yūki. I wonder if the Kneazle will figure out what we are." Saiya gave the red-head another wolfish grin.

"It would certainly make the year more interesting Saiya." Yūki replied with an answering grin.

The six teenagers continued on to the train. Once on board the crowded train the sandy blond and brunette boys split off into the first compartment that was partway empty, joining a trio of young wizards in black robes with blue and bronze ties who were animatedly discussing Quidditch and waved good bye to their friends, who were continuing down the aisle to look for more open spots in compartments. As they did Saiya called back over her shoulder to the two boys.

"Hey, James and Michael. Don't forget to give your birds treats for being so well behaved. I know how much they hate being cooped up." The two boys grinned at her as the door to their compartment slid closed.

A few compartments further down the blond girl and the dark haired boy in the large coat split off into a nearly full compartment that was already occupied by two boys and two girls who were discussing their summer vacations. As they stepped into the compartment a silver and black streak suddenly shot out from under his cloak and shot off down the aisle towards the back of the train. Sighing Saiya turned and headed off down the train following the hyperactive puppy that had been concealed under the burly boy's coat.

"Well, sorry Andre, Annelise. Guess I better go with her then. I'll catch up with you two when we reach Hogwarts." Andre merely grunted assent as he opened his fur cloak to let his own pure-white wolf pup out from under his coat. Both girls in the compartment immediately stopped their discussion and began to fawn over the cute pup. Annelise even smiled as she opened her cage and let her raven out to perch on her shoulder. She smiled at Yūki cheerfully. "We'll be alright Yūki. If we need you we'll just follow the trail of that wild cub of Saiya's and I'm sure it will lead us right to you."

With that Annelise sat down on the bench in the compartment and joined in the girls' fawning over Andre's snow wolf pup while Yūki turned and started off down the aisle towards where Saiya had disappeared through the door into the next car.

They finally found the hyperactive silver and black Flickerwolf pup at the very end of the train, pawing and whining at the door to the very last compartment. As Saiya passed Yūki the handle of her trunk she bent down and picked up her fluffy black and silver companion and opened the door into the compartment, as all the others nearby were completely filled. Inside the larger end compartment they found only one man, who was quite clearly fast asleep and just as clearly ragged and worn, as if he had had a tussle with a wild animal. Peeling letters stamped on one corner of the shabby trunk above his head identified him as Professor R.J. Lupin. Being careful not to wake the sleeping man Yūki carefully stowed their trunks and took a seat in the corner of the compartment. Saiya sat down beside him and her charge promptly hopped across to Yūki's lap and curled up. Saiya giggled.

"Looks like Fubuki likes you, Yūki." Saiya winked at the slightly surprised redhead. "Who'd have thought that an Ōkami would like a Ryū so much?" Again Saiya winked before both of them broke into stifled laughter.

A pair of croons that came suddenly from a closed black box with air holes at even intervals that Yūki had set on the bench beside him caused Fubuki to stand up and happily sniff at it. But before Yūki could open the box and release whatever was inside the door to the compartment slid open.

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Since the train had first begun moving Harry, Ron and Hermione had been looking for a compartment, but every single compartment except for the large one at the end of the train was completely filled. The only occupants, they noted as they glanced through the window into the compartment, were a pair of students whom they did not recognize and a man who was asleep next to the rear window of the compartment. They assumed the newcomers must be first years and yet they looked more like they could have been fourth or fifth years. The stranger on the other hand was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray. The two students on the other hand were playing cheerfully with a small silver and black wolf cub while attempting to stifle their laughter.

A soft crooning from a black box on the bench next to the young boy with fiery red hair drew the two students' attention, but before they could open the box Ron, tired of standing in the corridor, pushed past Harry and Hermione and opened the door to the compartment. Both the young redhead and the green haired girl beside him looked up, smiling when they saw that it was just fellow students.

"Oy," Ron said, a little miffed that they got stuck in a compartment with two first years and someone who, as Hermione was quietly pointing out to Harry, was apparently a teacher. "This is the only compartment with any room left."

Hermione and Harry fully expected at least a dirty look from the pair at Ron's rudeness, but the girl only blinked and shifted her sword to make more room on their side of the compartment and the boy just grinned at Ron for a moment before standing up and bowing low to Hermione. "Here, allow me to assist you with that." Without waiting for an answer Yūki got a grip on Hermione's trunk and in one smooth turn swung it carefully and quietly up onto the racks above their heads. He was about to help the others when Ron gruffly pushed past him and lifted his own trunk with a bit more trouble than Yūki handled Hermione's, and Harry politely waved off his offer for help, instead carefully levitating his trunk onto an empty spot on one of the racks. Once they had all gotten their trunks settled and had taken a seat the introductions – and inquisitions – began.

"Woof." Before any introductions could be made Saiya's wolf cub sat up in her lap with a very un-wolfish smile on its face as it panted happily and looked at everyone who had just entered the compartment.

"Hehe," Saiya giggled softly and then continued in her soft, indistinguishable accent, "I guess I better start by introducing my pet here. This is Fubuki. Her name means "blizzard," and she is a-" Saiya didn't get a chance to finish as Hermione was already blurting out "A Flickerwolf. I've never seen one in real life, but I've read about them. They are supposed to be wicked smart, some say smarter than a pure-blooded Kneazle, but they are also extremely rare outside of Japan. How ever did you get one?" Hermione was leaning forward in her seat with interest, her own pet Crookshanks forgotten momentarily in his basket.

Saiya blushed, having momentarily forgotten that she showed more of her gaijin side than her Japanese side. "I'm… well, I'm part Japanese, and my clan is one of the few that raises and protects Flickerwolves. Fubuki was a gift on my birthday back in June. I'm Saiya by the way." She hastily added. "Saiya Kazeōkami. And this is Yūki Karyū."

Yūki bowed his head towards Harry, Ron and Hermione, giving them a bemused smile as he glanced at the basket in Hermione's lap.

"Now, miss…?" Yūki let his sentence trail off indicating that he was inquiring as to Hermione's name before he continued.

"Granger. Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Yūki. And yours as well Saiya."

"Yes. Well, anyways, Hermione, if you don't mind, may I inquire as to what sort of creature you have in that basket on your lap? It smells like a Kneazle, but the smell is too faint for it to be a pure blood."

Hermione blinked for a few moments, the extremely intelligent witch taking in the deeper implication of what Yūki had just said.

"Um, did you just say it _smells_ like a Kneazle? How can you possibly have a sense of smell that powerful? Or that exact for that matter?"

Yūki just blinked back at her with his magenta eyes. Hermione sighed.

"Well, I understand if you don't want to tell me. I will just have to research this in the library once we get to Hogwarts. Anyways," She opened the basket and pulled out a very large ginger tabby cat with a bottle-brush tail. Fubuki just panted happily and sat back down in Saiya's lap, intrigued by the new arrival. The cat just stared at her with disinterest. "This is Crookshanks, and according to the man at the shop where I bought him he is a half-Kneazle."

"Hmm, he is a beautiful animal." Yūki said before turning to Harry and Ron.

"We haven't been properly introduced. I am Yūki, of clan Karyū. Like Saiya here I am also part Japanese. The two of us have been studying in Japan at the Kyoto Academy of Applied Sciences and Magic, but because our parents moved to England for a project we were transferred, along with the other students whose parents had been pulled from around the world to work on this project, here to Hogwarts. So here we are, ready to start our third year of studying and curious as to this whole 'Sorting' business that we have been hearing about. Is it true that they read your minds and place you in a house based on your personality?"

Harry laughed and Ron grinned despite himself. "That's pretty darn close. I wonder who has been leaking the secret. Anyways, I'm Harry Potter, and this oh so cheerful chap here-" Harry motioned at Ron who smiled grudgingly and said 'Hello' "-is Ron Weasley. And you've already met Hermione Granger."

Yūki held out his hand and shook both Harry and Ron's hands in succession. Harry noticed that he wore a black dragon skin glove on his right hand, but his left hand was bare. He wondered at this, but other things quickly drew his attention off it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Harry, Ron. I'm certainly glad I met a couple of blokes like you rather than those bullies we passed further down the train. You know, the ones wearing silver and green?"

"You mean Slytherin." Ron groaned.

"Oh, is that what the prat with the white hair is called?" Yūki replied amusedly. "I thought I heard someone call him 'Mucus Chiroptera.' Then again, that red-head _was_ pointing a wand at him at the time, so maybe she was just casting a spell." Yūki grinned, his mixed accent shifting momentarily more British as he made the joke.

Ron however sat stark upright. "Mucus Chiroptera? Oh bloody hell, Malfoy is messing with Ginny."

Before anyone could say anything Ron had grabbed his wand, opened the compartment door, and shot off down the corridor looking for the aforementioned Slytherin prat. Harry and Hermione sighed and smiled ruefully at their new friends. Harry was the first to answer the unspoken question.

"Draco Malfoy is a Slytherin who takes particular joy in tormenting Gryffindors, especially when he can't get caught doing so. The red-head you saw must have been Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister."

"I don't know why Ron is worried." Hermione added. "If Ginny was casting her infamous bat-bogey hex on them I doubt Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle are going to be a problem for her or us anytime soon."

Speaking of, the compartment door opened just then and Ron returned looking a bit disheveled and put out.

"Well, no sign of Ginny or those prats, but I did find a trail of bogeys leading to a compartment near the front so I figure that Malfoy and his goons are trying to rid themselves of those bogeys."

"Well that's good." Hermione said. Harry just grinned, imagining a bogey-covered Malfoy trying to scourgify himself.

A sudden crooning from the black box that sat on the bench next to Yūki interrupted everyone and caused Yūki to look down with an embarrassed grin. "Whoops, you're entrance made me forget about my companions."

Yūki and Saiya both stood up, Yūki carrying the black box and Saiya setting Fubuki down on the bench with a cheery "Behave yourself."

"If you three wouldn't mind watching over Fubuki for a few minutes, we need to go talk to the other transfer students for a bit. Our letters from the Headmaster requested that we all demonstrate a little something that we were taught at our previous schools, and we want to make sure that none of us is planning to demonstrate the same thing."

Noticing Hermione's curiosity about the box he was taking with him Yūki grinned and added "And when we get _back_ Hermione, I'll show you what is in the box."

Ron and Harry grinned at Hermione's momentary discomfiture at being read so clearly.

As Yūki and Saiya stepped out into the corridor and closed the compartment door Fubuki had already walked over to the man who they assumed was a professor at their school and sniffed him before hopping onto Harry's lap to look at Crookshanks. As Yūki and Saiya then started off down the corridor to find the other transfer students their improved hearing could hear Harry start to tell his friends something in low tones, although they couldn't quite make out the words. The pair grinned at each other, proud that their plan to leave Harry the time alone to speak with his friends that he had clearly wanted had gone off without a hitch.

As they continued down the corridor they passed the red-headed witch who must be Ginny Weasley and they both grinned at her. Ginny of course grinned back, knowing that they had witnessed her hexing the pants off Malfoy and his gang. The two of them continued off down the corridor in search of their friends, planning to leave Harry plenty of time to tell his friends whatever it was he couldn't say in mixed company. Yūki however did not notice the shifty looks Saiya was giving down the corridor, or else he probably would have insisted that she leave her zanbatou katana behind. But as it was, he didn't, and he didn't, so she didn't. Lucky for them, but unlucky for a little white ferret who just wasn't smart enough to leave well enough alone.

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AN: First chapter of a project I've been tossing around in my head for a while now. Let me know what you all think. This story will likely be updated slower than my other projects. Jaa ne.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the contents therein. I do own Saiya, Yūki, and my other original characters and critters.

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**Harry Potter and the Guardians' Wyrd**

_By Zaion Indulias_

**Chapter 2: The Ferret**

Yūki and Saiya walked slowly down the length of the train, in no real rush. They still had hours to go until they reached Hogwarts, and were in no rush to return to their compartment. They smiled politely in response to the smiles they received from a number of students they passed in the corridor, returned the glares of some others, and when met with curiosity just smiled knowing smiles.

They also noticed that the entirety of the students sending glares at them were wearing green and silver ties. That did not engender them any friendship towards House Slytherin at all, as they were already treating them with distaste without even having gotten to know them.

Yūki and Saiya bypassed Andre and Annelise's compartment as the two were still busy with the girls obsessing over Andre's wolf pup, instead making a bee line for where they had left James and Michael to discuss Quidditch with the other students. Yūki remembered from his briefing that blue and bronze was the color of House Ravenclaw, a House that prided knowledge and intelligence above all others. The remaining three houses were Hufflepuff, which valued loyalty and hard work, Gryffindor, which valued courage, and Slytherin, which valued cunning. Given what he had gathered about the sorting process he was fairly certain that he would be dropped in Gryffindor, but he couldn't be sure about the rest of his friends.

When they reached the compartment Yūki slid the door open and stepped to the side, waving Saiya in with a smirk. The wolfish girl mock-glowered at Yūki as she stepped through the open door and took a seat on the bench next to James.

"Grrr, you know I hate chivalrous men, Yūki." Saiya growled, shooting a glare at Yūki as he entered the compartment and closed the door behind him. "Unless they're beating the crap out of someone for offending me. Then it's ok." She added with a smile.

Yūki chuckled and leant back against the compartment door and crossed his arms, holding the box with his familiars in his arms while grinning at the inhabitants of the compartment.

"Yo, I'm assuming James and Michael here filled you in on the gist of why we're here?" He said as he continued to grin, analyzing the students before him.

As he waited for a response Yūki noted several things about the students before him. One, they all appeared to be roughly his own age, not that he looked anything like his own age in the first place. Two, the three brown haired boys were paying what he felt was undue attention to Saiya, who unlike them was not wearing school robes yet. She was still dressed in her tight worn blue jeans and her form-fitting black shirt, and because of how she was sitting her cloak was entirely behind her back, obscuring nothing at all. Third, not a one of them bore even the slightest tingle of the power that he was seeking.

Within his mind Yūki sighed as he came to the conclusion that whoever it was who had been releasing such powerful temporal magical fluctuations for the past thirteen years did not have any prolonged contact with these three, at least not in the past several months. At least if any of his friends got sorted into their house they might be able to use them to, discreetly of course, figure out who had been causing the fluctuations.

"Ey, eyes up here boyos!" Saiya barked as she turned away from speaking with James. "I'm happily taken, and I'll thank you to keep your eyes to your self."

Saiya crossed her arms in annoyance before standing and leaning against the compartment wall next to Saiya. The three boys all swallowed as they got Saiya's message loud and clear.

"Um, sorry Saiya. You're just so attractive that we couldn't help it." One of the boys muttered, blushing fiercely.

Saiya smirked and then adjusted as Sora slid an arm around her waist.

"Just don't do it again." She said flippantly before returning her attention to her two friends. "Anyways, James, Michael. Yūki and I wanted to make sure that we knew what everyone was planning to demonstrate. We don't want to all do the same thing after all."

Saiya smirked as the three other boys in the compartment blinked in confusion and James and Michael shared a knowing grin.

"Well Saiya," James began. "I figured that I would demonstrate Magus Ball with Michael's assistance, since it's become popular in Australia as well. Michael figured he would demonstrate his skills with elemental magic afterwards."

Saiya smiled and nodded.

"Ok, cool. Yūki and I were planning to demonstrate a small sword duel first. Then I was going to display variant flying devices with Tsubaki here." Saiya began, patting the sword strapped to her back. "Before Yūki wows everyone with a display of hand-seal magic."

Saiya shot her boyfriend a wolfish grin while Michael and James shared a knowing look and the three other boys in the compartment looked at one another in confusion.

"Anyways, now that that's clear, we'll leave you guys alone. We still need to go speak with Andre and Annelise. We know we have a long train ride ahead, but we want to be clear on this stuff now. Jaa ne James, Michael." Saiya said, kicking off from the wall as she finished.

She turned and waited as Yūki slid open the door, shooting the taller boy a smile before stepping out into the corridor. Yūki followed and slid the door shut behind him after waving goodbye to the occupants, who had quickly fallen upon James and Michael to ask them about what was going on.

Still smiling, Saiya sashayed back down the hallway towards the compartment that Annelise and Andre had claimed, Yūki following in her wake. The two were too preoccupied with their flirtations to notice a pair of light grey eyes under a shock of platinum blond hair watching the green-haired girl and licking his lips as he took in her curves and elegant features.

When they reached the compartment Yūki again slid the door opened and waited for Saiya to enter first. The couple knew that to outsiders this looked like simple chivalry between a boy and his girlfriend, but having been raised in the complexities of the Yokai Courts the two had developed certain instincts that they couldn't shake very easily. Since Saiya was of higher status than Yūki, back home he would have been expected to open doors for her as a matter of course, and that was one behavior that he had not been able to shake.

The fact that the two had fallen in love complicated their status, as did the fact that Yūki would be freed from his obligations upon reaching his majority and that Saiya had manipulated their parents into signing a bonding contract for the pair, to ensure that her claim on him was never challenged or in doubt. So they maintained many aspects of Court Formal behavior while in public, but in private Saiya relaxed, letting all the bluster and aggression of being Alpha slip away.

A crowded compartment involving teenage girls fawning over Andre's wolf pup was most certainly NOT private…

"Hey Andre, Annelise." Saiya said as she heard Yūki close the compartment door behind them. Grinning at the occupants of the compartment, the girls of which were eyeing her figure enviously and the guys of which briefly eyed her as well before noticing the imposing figure of Yūki standing behind her, Saiya leant backwards into Yūki's waiting arm and snuggled up against him, relaxing into his embrace.

…but it would have to do.

"Hey Saiya." Annelise replied with a smile. "We didn't expect to see you two this soon. Andre and I were betting on how long the two of you would spend making out."

Saiya mock-glared at the French girl's cheeky comment, not for the first time marveling at how well Annelise was able to hide her accent. Annelise just smiled back, her pale face and blue eyes framed by her shockingly blond hair.

"How dare you mock me? Don't you have any respect for polite company?" Saiya asked with an affectation of being shocked.

"Moi? I would never dream of mocking you, m'lady." Annelise replied with mock politeness moments before both she and Saiya broke down into giggles. The two had been goofing off like this almost from the moment they had met.

Yūki shared an exasperated look with the twin boys in the compartment wearing red and bronze ties and shrugged his shoulders.

"What can you do? Can't live with them, can't live without their say so."

Saiya caught Yūki's comment just as she was calming down and she burst out laughing again, grabbing a hold of his arm in order to ensure that she didn't fall over as she proceeded to laugh her ass off. Yūki just chuckled.

"Yeah, sorry about my nearly-insane girlfriend here, but you just wouldn't understand why my comment was so funny unless you understand how marriages are arranged where we come from."

The two boys nodded while the two girls were eyeing the firm muscles of his chest that were being framed by his tight t-shirt.

"Aye, it's all right mate. We tend to pull some pretty heavy pranks around school, and we often laugh at our own inside jokes as well." One of the red-headed twins said. "I'm Fred by the way."

"You're not Fred, I'm Fred." The second boy said in indignation, drawing a pair of snickers from the two girls sitting across from them. It was obvious to both Saiya and Yūki that the girls knew the two brothers quite well.

"Are you sure? I could have sworn I was Fred last time I checked." The first boy muttered as he reached into his robes.

He withdrew a standard Wizarding ID card and after scanning it for a second he looked up with a bemused expression on his face.

"Well, what do you know? I'm not Fred after all. I'm George."

The way he delivered this last comment resulted in most of the compartment's occupants either laughing or grinning widely.

Yūki and Saiya remained with Gryffindors, whose names they learned were Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Fred and George Weasley, for well over an hour before they left to return to their own compartment. Saiya headed off down the train first while Yūki said his goodbyes. The Weasley twins had intrigued Yūki, and he vowed to learn a bit more about their pranking techniques while he was at Hogwarts.

As Yūki stepped back out of the compartment and slid the door shut behind him he mock-bowed to those inside before turning to head down the train. He barely got three steps before he heard a sound that made his blood run cold, which is quite a feat considering his ancestry.

"EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Yūki took off at a run, his blood beginning to boil as he slid aside the door blocking access to the next segment of the train and saw Saiya pinned against the wall of the hallway by a boy about her age with platinum blond hair and a sneer plastered on his face. Yūki was already rolling up his right sleeve to prevent anything from interfering with his casting as he approached, and he caught wind of what the blond boy was saying.

"Such a pretty girl like you, you shouldn't be hanging around with trash like those Weasleys. And given the hair color on that tall boy I'm guessing he's a Weasley relative as well. No, you should be giving your favors to someone like me." Draco sneered arrogantly. "After all, I am the only son of Lucius Malfoy and heir to the Malfoy fortune. I can do so much for you, and all you have to do is be a good little girl and obey me."

Draco reached up a hand to stroke Saiya's cheek, only to have her turn her head suddenly and bite down hard on his hand. Draco cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, clutching his injured hand to his chest. Even at the distance he was at Yūki could see the twin rivulets of blood running from where Saiya's canines must have pierced the skin. Yūki's eyes narrowed as he heard Draco shout orders to the two hulking brutes flanking him, named Crabbe and Goyle apparently, and he brought his hand up to point with an open palm towards the nearer of the two.

"Nox noctis!" He exclaimed as a bolt of dark-purple light shot forth from the center of his gloved palm, slamming into the nearer of the two ogres' face and causing him to drop like a stone.

Draco was so surprised that he and the second ogre of a boy stood stunned. It may have only been for a moment, but that was all Saiya needed.

"Deformis!" Saiya cried as she grasped the hilt of the sword strapped to her back. The entire sheathe glowed with a faint blue light for a moment and suddenly Saiya was sliding the blade forth through her own body, the blade insubstantial and glowing with an otherworldly blue light.

"Transformo Furo!" She cried out as she brought the glowing immaterial blade up and through a shocked Draco Malfoy's torso. There was a flash of blue light as she sliced the blade up and out of his body and Draco Malfoy vanished. In his place chattered a pure white ferret on the floor of the corridor.

A second "Nox noctis" slammed into the remaining ogre of a boy and dropped him like a stone just like the first one as Yūki ran up to Saiya's side, just as the shorter girl slid her sword back into its sheath with a flash of blue light.

"Are you okay?" He asked, ignoring the frantic ferret that was scrambling around below his feet.

"Now I am." Saiya muttered as she dusted off her shoulder where Draco had touched her. "Come on, lets get back to our compartment. I'm sure Fubuki is missing me, and I can't stand the stench of scum that's filling this corridor."

Saiya grabbed Yūki's hand and took off down the corridor dragging the taller boy after her. Those students who popped their heads out to see what the results of all the shouting had been were shocked to find an unconscious Crabbe and Goyle slumped on the floor of the compartment while a pure white ferret ran around frantically.

* * *

Saiya and Yūki returned to the compartment at the end of the train to find Fubuki was curled up quietly on the empty side of the compartment while Harry and his friends were busy enjoying the snacks that they had purchased from the snack cart.

"Where have you guys been?" Ron asked. "You missed us intimidating the hell out of Draco Malfoy. He wasn't brave enough to pick a fight when a teacher was around."

Yūki chuckled as Hermione shushed her friend and attempted to apologize for his behavior.

"Don't worry about it, Miss Granger. Saiya and I had our own run-in with the bloody bastard and his hired ogres just a few minutes ago. Needless to say, they won't be bothering anyone for a while." Yūki said with a chuckle as he sat down, removing the box from under his arm and placing it in his lap. Hermione and the others could once again hear a soft crooning from inside the box.

"The bastard didn't harm you, did e' mate?" Ron asked before either Harry or Hermione could respond.

Saiya grinned ferally. "Only when he shoved me against the wall, but I got the last laugh on him."

"What did you do?" Harry asked as he opened another package of chocolate frogs.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll hear about it soon enough. Let's just say, that bloody bastard as ferrety as they come." Saiya replied with a snigger as she stroked her drowsy pet. Fubuki yipped happily at the attention before settling back down to sleep.

"So, Yūki, are you going to show us what's in the box now?" Hermione asked, leaning forward in interest. Yūki chuckled.

"Guess I should have figured that you would remember. I did promise, ne?" Yūki said with a smile as he reached to unlatch the box. "Well, if you all promise not to be frightened and not to draw your wands I guess I can show you."

As soon as all three had promised Yūki grinned and opened the box. A pair of winged figures, one red, one blue, shot forth from the box and chased each other around the chamber. After a few moments the figures let out a pair of harmonious croons and settled onto Yūki's shoulders, fluttering their wings for balance.

"Gentlemen and lady, may I introduce Ka and Kōri, my firelizard partners." Yūki said with a grin.

Even Hermione was at a loss for words as the trio og Gryffindors leant forward to gaze at the two winged lizards sitting on Yūki's shoulders. The one on his right was a brilliant ruby red, its fractal scales glinting like fire red gemstones over the silvery-red skin they protected. Its claws and teeth glittered like translucent rubies, as did the fragile looking crystalline feather-like spines that sat on top of its head. Its eyes were multifaceted like crystals and seemed to change color as the creature eyed them curiously.

"This is Ka, a male Red Firelizard, also known as a Rubytalon." Yūki said, motioning towards his right shoulder.

The one on the left stood in stark contrast to Ka. Kōri was a brilliant sapphire blue, its fractal scales glinting like glacial blue gemstones over the silvery-blue skin that they protected. Kōri's claws and teeth glittered like dark sapphires, a glimmering counterpoint to the bright red flame of Ka's. Kori's crest was smaller, but she had a pair of silvery-blue horns on top of her head, flowing backwards sleekly over her skull. Her eyes were multifaceted and currently glittered green, indicating her curiosity.

"And this is Kōri, a female Blue Firelizard, also known as a Glacialtongue." Yūki continued, motioning to his left shoulder.

"Excuse me." Hermione began. "But, is it just me, or is Kori larger than Ka?"

"Kōri" Yūki began, emphasizing the correct pronunciation of his familiar's name. "is indeed larger. And no, it's not an age thing. All firelizard species are closely interrelated, and there is a distinct sexual dimorphism that is pretty standard across all species. Males are smaller and are faster and more agile than the larger females. Females on the other hand have distinct backward-swept horns, larger teeth and claws, and tend to be more aggressive."

Yūki reached up and stroked Kōri, eliciting a soft trilling croon from the pleased reptile. To his right Saiya raised a hand and stroked Ka in a similar manner, eliciting a second croon that settled upon the compartment as an eerie harmony for Kōri's.

"This is just amazing!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly. "I mean, I read a brief notation about them in my Care of Magical Creatures textbook, but all it mentioned was a brief description and that they are believed to be related to dragons. I never imagined they would be so beautiful."

Yūki chuckled again. "Well, I tend to take their existence for granted since I've been raised in a family that takes care of them. Kōri and Ka were both orphaned after a fire damaged the nests and killed several of the adults, so I took them in and nursed them back to health. The pair have been inseparable from either each other or my self ever since."

Yūki held out a hand and whistled a croon surprisingly similar to that of the two lizards and Ka hopped into the air and glided to his outstretched hand, fluttering his wings for stability as he landed. The red-haired boy held Ka up so that Harry, Ron, and Hermione could get a closer look. Sensing that he was on display Ka trilled and spun around, flaring his wings and posing in what he was hoping was a dominating sort of way. Unfortunately for the little flying lizard, all he succeeded in doing was looking irresistibly cute.

"SQUA-" FWOOF

Hermione leapt back, beating at part of her hair that was smoldering as the frightened fire lizard scurried up Yūki's arm and hid against his neck. Yūki was trying hard not to bend over as he laughed.

"Sorry, I should have warned about that. I guess I assumed that since you had read about them that you would have known that they are creatures of the elements."

Ka poked his head around and trilled in response before poking his snout into the air and snorting two tiny jets of flame out. In response Kōri poked her snout into the air and let forth a jet of blue flame that crossed paths with Ka's. However, as the two flames met Ka's solidified suddenly into a burst of ice, flame immortalized in solid form. Before it could fall Yūki reached out and caught it, a grin plastered on his face as he handed it to Hermione.

"Red's are creatures of fire, while Blue's are beings of ice. It is this dichotomy that makes the two breeds so valued by the Hanyou Clans back home."

Hermione blinked at the frozen flame in her hand before looking up in confusion.

"Hanyou Clans?" She inquired as she sat back in her seat.

"Maybe I'll tell you about them sometime." Yūki chuckled, not realizing that Hermione was going to go look them up in the Library as soon as she had the chance.

The train ride continued in relative peace, although the steadily increasing rain outside was making Yūki feel uneasy. He had never really liked the rain, since it was too unstable for his liking. He preferred environments that he could control easily. Things were going just fine right up until the moment Ron jinxed everything by muttering that they must be almost there. All of a sudden the train began to slow, coming to a complete stop with a jolt before the lamps went out and the train was plunged into total darkness.

Ignoring the exclamations from Hermione as Ron stumbled on her foot Yūki opened his senses and reached outward, seeking for any sign of trouble. He instantly recoiled as he sensed the utter darkness surrounding the train. As the others noted that there were figures moving around outside and as another student stumbled into the compartment Yūki curled in upon him self. In the distance he could here faint cries of pain, cries he recognized well.

"Quiet!" He faintly heard as Professor Lupin woke up.

No one in the compartment spoke.

There was a soft, crackling noise and a shivering light filled the compartment, but Yūki noted this only peripherally as the dark presence closed in, bringing forth his worst memories.

"nononono" he muttered softly, faintly aware of Saiya cradling him against her self as she attempted to fight off her own bad memories. Saiya was thankful that in the faint light none of the other occupants of the compartment noticed the way the skin on Yūki's face was rippling, becoming scaled for brief moments before returning to normal.

As the door of the compartment was pushed open and a hooded figure entered Saiya let out a screech and without thinking, reacting before even Professor Lupin could, she pointed both hands towards the dark figure and pushed. Everyone in the compartment was forced to look away as a burst of intense blindingly-white light burst forth from her palms, forcing the creature back for a moment. The light died as Saiya dropped into uncontrollable shivers and sobs, but it had been enough. Saiya was remotely aware of Professor Lupin casting a Patronus charm as she slipped into unconsciousness alongside Yūki.

* * *

AN: And here is chapter 2. This story is a little more difficult for me to write, particularly since I am trying to write it alongside Book 3 without disrupting the events of Prisoner of Azkaban too much. I promise that I will attempt to avoid writing over scenes that don't differ too much from the actual book, particularly since this story focuses more on the Seven and the search for the source of the disruptions. The second and third story will see more action from Harry and his friends, but for this story their importance is actually decidedly less. Besides, they need to save Sirius. They don't have time to be chasing ghosts of mistakes of the past.

Also, I am compiling several Appendixes for my own purposes, including one on spells and two on magical creatures. If enough people show interest in them in reviews, I might start putting them up at the end of each chapter, updated to match what information has been revealed or won't spoil the story.

Please, read and review, as it lets me know what you think of what I am writing.


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